Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus is the protagonist of Oedipus the King. He becomes king after saving the city of Thebes and solving the riddle of the Sphinx. Although he has remarkable insight in riddles and matters pertaining to his people, he remains blind to the truth about himself.

Jocasta is both Oedipus's wife and mother, as well as Creon's sister. She contributes to the tragic irony of the play by attempting to protect Oedipus from the knowledge of his true nature after discovering it herself. This is evidence of her deep love for him, as well as her desire to remain both his wife and mother.

Antigone is the daughter born from the union between Jocasta and Oedipus. She appears only at the end of the play, where she says goodbye to her father before his banishment.

Creon is Oedipus's brother-in-law. He is a very prominent figure in the play and serves as the king's antagonist. He claims not to have any desire for the kingship, but nonetheless does not hesitate to take the opportunity to become king when Oedipus can no longer fill the role.

Polynices is the son resulting from the union between Oedipus and his mother. He does not play a very big role in Oedipus the King.

Teresias is a very important character in the play, as he represents the hidden truth that Oedipus at first refuses to see. Teresias is a blind soothsayer. His blindness is symbolic of the truth that Oedipus deliberately hides from himself.

The chorus serves the purpose of reacting to and commenting on the events in the play. As such, the chorus can also suggest to the audience how events and speeches should be interpreted.

2. Unlike modern plays and films, where vast technical resources are available for scene changes, the Greek tragedy generally does not involve physical setting changes. Instead, the imagination of the audience is used to envision the action taking place in other settings than the one depicted. A messenger for example would provide the audience with a vivid description of the action taking place offstage. This is also one of the interesting features of Oedipus the King. The physical setting of the play is the facade of the palace. The most significant action of the play, where Oedipus blinds himself, takes place offstage, as does Jocasta's suicide (line 1480-1530). In addition to practical considerations, this removal of the most dramatic and shocking scenes from direct exposure to the audience also contributes to the aura of horror surrounding the play. The audience is confronted with an eyeless Oedipus, and only in their imaginations can the audience members fathom the horror of how he blinded himself.

3. The most significant symbols in the play relate to sight and blindness, which represent truth and lies, or hidden truth. In the beginning, Oedipus can see. His physical eyes work, but ironically he is not mentally aware of the real truth behind his status as king. At the end, the destruction of his physical eyes symbolizes the horror of the truth that he must be aware of even if he is physically blind. The irony of this is that he cannot eradicate this truth, regardless of whether he can physically see or not. His physical loss of sight is penance for the lack of insight he had at the start of the play. He has exchanged physical sight for mental insight into the truth.

4. Rhetorically, Oedipus uses the diction of a king at the beginning of a play. He plays the role of one in power, and of a person in full control of and with confidence in himself. When his people approaches him with a problem, he therefore reacts with confidence that he can solve it. He is fearless and strong in his position, as shown in lines 10-15. He is so confident that he can take care of any problem that he promises to do so even before hearing what the trouble is. Indeed, he believes that the only thing that can possibly keep him from helping the supplicants with their problem would be the hardness of his heart. This assertion strongly contrasts with the words of extreme self-hatred and disgust he feels obliged to speak at the end, when he appears after having blinded himself, and also during the act of blinding itself. In lines 1515-1520 for example he uses adjectives such as "atrocious" and "dreadful" in order to describe what he suffered and did. He is no longer the capable, powerful king.

5. The most important element of style in the play is irony. Indeed, the very central themes of sight and blindness are used in order to achieve various effects of irony. The main irony is that Oedipus has remarkable insight into complicated matters and riddles that do not concern himself. This reinforces the idea that Oedipus's symbolic blindness is deliberate. Indeed, this is also reinforced by Jocasta, who wishes to keep Oedipus in the dark to prevent the devastation of knowledge. The final irony is that the truth brought about the ultimate devastation: Jocasta's death and Oedipus's blindness and banishment ruins the once prosperous family.